Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Corners & Mercy

Yesterday, James and Cole and I viewed Rob Bell's DVD "Corner," based on the instruction in Deuteronomy that we are to leave "corners" of our vineyards, wheat fields or whatever--corners of our bounty--for those who are poor or strangers in our midst. We followed that with a most interesting discussion of about "charity," "welfare," the working poor, people who abuse the system, and so forth.

Today I notice that Bishop Jake has posted his sermon from last Sunday on his sermon blog, and it strikes me as a relevant follow-up to our discussion. Here is an excerpt:

Hearing Bartimaeus 

sermon by Bishop Jake at Grace Church, Monroe, Sunday, 10/28/12

I love movies.  All sorts of movies.  I love babies.  All sorts of babies.  But my heart sinks when I see parents bringing a baby into a movie theater that I’ve settled into.  A crying infant will break the spell of the movie experience and focus all my attention on a baby in distress.
Even with booming special effects or a swelling musical score, the baby’s cry will force everything else into the background of my awareness.  It’s not that I get angry at the parents or resent the little one for being hungry or scared or messy.  I just can’t help responding to a sobbing papoose.
It’s difficult for anyone to ignore crying babies.  Our brains respond to wailing infants before we have a chance to think about it.  A recent study from Oxford University demonstrated just that.
Mary Cassatt's "Mother Jean Nursing Her Baby"

The study involved thirty childless adults who had no special experience in caring for children.  The researchers played recordings of babies and adults crying, as well as sounds of animals in distress.
Brain scans revealed that each of the participants responded to the sounds, but only the baby’s sobs produced activity in the brain’s emotional centers.  The response time, by the way, was 100 milliseconds.
Our emotions motivate us to act.  When babies cry, we feel an urge to do something about it.  They need help and they are powerless to help themselves.  We are hardwired to come to their rescue with milk or formula or a pacifier or a fresh diaper.
Of course I don’t do this in a movie theater because the parents are right there.  Usually one of them grabs a diaper bag or scurries out of the theater for a few minutes.  But my blood pressure goes up precisely because some primitive part of me is straining to make it all better for a helpless baby.
We are hardwired for compassion toward babies.  By contrast, we have learned to tune out cries for help from others.  Television, radio, the internet, and newspapers inundate us with stories of human suffering.  People are devastated by war and natural disaster, and famine pushes millions to starvation.  In our daily rounds we encounter the poor, the homeless, the illiterate, the mentally ill, and the addicted.
To borrow a phrase from William James, if we didn’t filter out these cries for help we would be lost in a buzzing, booming confusion of misery.  There are too many cries for help competing for our attention, and we have too little time and too few resources to deal with even a small percentage of these cries.  And so, to focus on what we need to do for ourselves and for the small circle of friends and family who depend upon us, we learn to filter out the cries.
And yet Jesus teaches us to be merciful: to hear with our hearts the cries for help around us and to respond with the same help that Jesus has already given us.  We have received mercy so that we can show mercy.  A vital congregation is known for its works of mercy.
Jesus’ healing of blind Bartimaeus teaches us some helpful things about being a merciful congregation.  That story invites us to explore three questions:
What is mercy?
What are the works of mercy?
What effect do works of mercy have on the believing community?
for the remainder of the sermon, click here
 

Monday, October 29, 2012

Third Time a Charm?

So.... last week I went off and left the Rob Bell DVD, "Corner" at home. So James and I had an interesting visit about orthodoxy, individualism and Christianity.

Tomorrow, we'll try again!

Canterbury@ULM
Tuesday, 5:30 - 6:30
Student Center 163

I think I'll bring a Johnny's pizza. Mid-term is over; no excuses for mssing! See you there.


Sunday, October 21, 2012

Try again?!

I held down the fort by myself last week! So it goes.                                  

We'll try again this week, as usual:

Canterbury@ULM
Tuesday, 10/23, 5:30 p.m.
Student Center 163

We'll view another of the Rob Bell series, this one called "Corner." Some of the questions:

Is God fair?

Is success dangerous?


In addition, I have a community service opportunity for us.

See you Tuesday!

Monday, October 15, 2012

This Week!

Sunday at St. Thomas' we celebrated the gift of baptism with Rosine! It was a wonderful occasion. 

This week's Canterbury@ULM will be:

Tuesday, 5:30 p.m.
Student Center 163

Is God fair?

We'll screen Rob Bell's answer to this question in a video titled "Corner."

In addition, we'll spend a few minutes on constitution and by-laws, and I'll report briefly on the Interfaith meetings last week.

As usual, I'll bring food. I'm thinking a few hot dogs and a few chicken nuggets. Pick up a beverage in the SUB if you want one.

Be there!!

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Holy Baptism

This Sunday is a very special occasion for one of our Canterbury@ULM members. Rosine Bowobda will be baptized at St. Thomas' Episcopal Church!                        

Rosine has not yet been able to attend Canterbury meetings. She is a graduate assistant and works in a lab until 6 p.m. Tuesdays, but she plans to arrange her schedule next semester so she can join us.

In the meantime, to have Canterbury@ULM members present would make her baptism extra special!

Come Sunday at 10 a.m. for the principal service at St. Thomas', 3706 Bon Aire Dr., just past the last of the ULM dorm/apartments. It's also "birthday Sunday" at St. Thomas', so we'll celebrate birthdays and Rosine's baptism with refreshments on the Sun Porch after the service.

Hope to see you there!

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Interfaith this week!

Conversations about Ouachita Parish

The Rev. Dale Farley, Messiah Lutheran, & Minister Mary Ann Cooper, Bethel COGIC, lead a recent Interfaith assembly.

Tuesday, Oct. 9, 6:15 p.m.
New Light Baptist Church
1623 So. 4th St.

Canterbury@ULM will not meet this week because your chaplain is an Interfaith leader and co-chair of this week's meeting! A diverse group of people will gather Tuesday evening to share a potluck meal and their visions for Monroe and Ouachita Parish. 

Northern & Central Louisiana Interfaith is a coalition of primarily faith-based institutions that purposefully crosses lines that historically divide people, lines of religion, race, socio-economic status and geography. We cross these lines in order to work together to improve the quality of life in the community for everyone.

Canterbury members are invited and, indeed, urged to come. You will not see anything like this meeting anywhere else in the city or parish! If you need a ride, let me know and I'll pick you up on campus no later than 5:45 p.m.

To drive yourself, go south on Hwy 165 to Winnsboro Road (a.k.a. Hwy 15), turn right onto Winnsboro Rd., go to either 4th or 5th St., turn right again. In the first block, you'll see New Light Baptist Church, with a large parking lock and blonde brick buildings that extend from 5th to 4th St., just around the corner from Winnsboro Rd.

Hope to see you there!
 
 

Friday, October 5, 2012

Time to party!






SATURDAY
is the day!

5:30 - 7:30
3706 Bon Aire Drive
That's a 5-minute walk down Bon Aire past the dorms, or if you prefer to drive, we have plenty of parking. 
The patio and memorial walk where all the festivities will take place are behind the church.
Present your ticket that says "Canterbury" on the back.

Oh, and  bring a buck or two to enter into the cake walk!
 
HAVE FUN! 

Monday, October 1, 2012

This Week

Don't forget!                                    

Canterbury@ULM
Tuesday, 5:30 p.m.
Student Center 163

This week we have a bit of a mixed agenda, as follows:

Constitution & By-Laws - We'll take a look at the documents I prepared based on those from the Canterbury Chapter at Northwestern. In two weeks, we'll vote on them.

Events at St. Thomas' - The barbecue this Saturday and the baptism of a graduate student who can't participate in Canterbury this semester due to a schedule conflict but will next semester.

Interfaith "Conversations about Ouachita Parish" - More information about this event and why you might want to participate.

Discussion! - We'll continue the discussion started last week that was inspired by Bishop Jake's Wednesday message. Specifically, I'll share a bit of history about the Protestant Reformation and we'll talk about the long-term consequences and variations of what Martin Luther started. How about Bishop Jake's message that I posted a few days ago? Do you see a connection to the issues and philosophies we're discussing?

BTW, I'm meeting with Bishop Jake Thursday, so if you have any messages for him, I'll be happy to deliver them!

See you Tuesday!